Last night at IDC we talked about Jesus announcing himself as the Water of Life and the Light of the World. In John chapters 7-9, the timing of what Jesus is talking about takes place during the Feast of Tabernacles. In researching this passage of scripture, I found a couple of really great explanations of why Jesus called himself these things.
During Jesus' day, the participants saved up water and each day they would pour it out in the temple in remembrance of the water being poured from the Rock, which supplied for the Israelites in the desert. Picture Jesus standing in the temple as this ritual took place and declaring "Anyone who thirsts let Him drink of Me..." No wonder people got riled up whenever he started talking like this. He was comparing Himself (rightly so) to the Rock that followed the Israelites in the desert.
Also during that time, they erected four bowls with numerous wicks burning brightly for the first seven days of the Feast. These were massive candelabras, 75 feet tall. On the last day of the feast, they would extinguish the light to remind themselves that these were not the true lights, but only point to it. Imagine again, Jesus declaring to everyone at the feast that He was that true light of the world.
Both of these events took place on the last day of the feast.
Jesus was a master of taking what was happening around him and making it into a spiritual lesson that unpacks it so everyone can understand. This should be our prayer that we, like Jesus, can help others to connect with God through the events of our everyday life.
Special thanks to www.parkstreet.org/pulpit/studyq04/061106.shmtl
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